What do these taste like? Photo: Francois Boucher from Flickr
Many of you know that I subscribe to Seth Godin’s blog and appreciate his perspective and wisdom. In reading his post today it struck me that the challenges of educating people on the value and feel of a true custom bicycle are not unlike describing the taste of hot peppers to one who has never tried them. Here is that post in its entirety.
What’s it like? (The sad story of the hot pepper)
Can you imagine how difficult it was to sell the jalapeño when it came over from the new world?
“What’s it like?” you’d be asked.
Well, it’s like a pepper (of course, it wasn’t. Black pepper is dried and tastes very different).
Well, it’s hot (no, it’s not. Hot is a temperature, spicy is a taste).
It’s not like anything, actually. Capsicum is an experience unto itself, and forcing me to tell you what it’s like does neither of us much of a service.
“What’s it like,” is actually shorthand for, “I don’t trust you enough to just try it, so you better explain in detail what category this item fits into so I can decide in advance how to understand it.”
“What’s it like?” is a huge impediment to growth and to the spread of new ideas, because forcing a marketer to pigeonhole an idea naturally limits it.
“What’s it like?” leads to sequels and high concepts and crossovers, but it doesn’t get us 1966 Bob Dylan or even yoga class.
Great marketers take advantage of categories every day. Great marketers understand how to create books or services or products or technologies that are very much like something else, but better. You should do that whenever you can.
If you want a fast start and good sales, be ready to answer the question.
When you have something that’s a breakthrough, though, perhaps you need to say instead, “It’s not like anything. You need to trust me and just taste it.”
I know that most people have no idea what it feels like to ride a bicycle that is properly designed around their optimum position. They have never been in an optimum position! I am thankful, however, that enough people have trusted me to find their position and design them a bike that KGS Bikes has become known around the world as the go-to place to get it done right.
I look forward to having the opportunity to tell you, “It’s not like anything you have tried before. You need to trust me and just go for it!”
